Page 27 of Here in My Heart (Here Together #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

They hadn’t discussed the not-kiss. Paul’s timing had been awful, but it had given Sylvie a split second to reconsider the career-limiting move. If he’d seen them and called her out, it would’ve put an end to her promotion dreams. Maybe even her book deal would have been questioned.

She’d sent Ade a few messages, focusing on faculty deadlines and student updates.

She’d agonized over every word, taking care to avoid any hint of hope or regret.

But the memory of Ade’s lips edging closer to Sylvie’s replayed over and over.

She’d spent the whole weekend shaking the vision of Ade’s breath, forming in the cold air, blending with her own until the distance between them was imperceptible.

Her heart had raced like never before when she’d finally admitted her loosely defined feelings. Ade had mirrored Sylvie’s own fear of being rejected, of being laughed off and discarded.

A tempest of questions stormed her mind, but she had no time to calm them. She adjusted the last of the cushions on her parents’ couch and ignored the plume of dust which rose into the air. Country living was all very well, but it seemed to create much more mess.

A horn sounded, and Sylvie ran to the window to see Elda climbing out of the car. Grinning from ear to ear, she waved with both hands before a small child gripped her thigh.

Sylvie swung open the front door, and the whole Mason-Brown family poured into the cottage. “Guys, you’re here.” She enveloped Elda in a huge hug and planted kisses on the boys’ cheeks.

Charlie brought up the rear with both hands full of gift bags. “ Hey, Sylvie. It’s so good to see you.” She blew her a kiss.

“In, in, in. I want to inspect these boys.” Sylvie made a big deal of measuring them against herself. “Stand right there, Eli. Mm, just as I hypothesized. At least the length of a sausage.”

Elijah giggled and leaned into her.

“How about you, Arlo? I’m not sure you’ve grown.” Sylvie grimaced and sucked her breath between her teeth. “You seem just the same.”

“I have grown!” Elda and Charlie’s youngest son protested with a stamp of his foot. “Tell Sylvie, Mama.”

“There’s only one way to find out, little guy. Last time we got together you were up to this crease on my jeans.” She pointed to her mid-thigh. “Shall we see what’s happened?”

“I can already see he’s grown a bit,” Eli said, jumping on the spot.

“I think you might be right.” Sylvie clapped her hands, and both boys cheered with glee.

“You are too much,” Elda said, squeezing Sylvie’s arm.

“Who wants lunch? You must be hungry from all that traveling.”

“They’re always hungry, Sylvie. It doesn’t matter what we do.” Charlie dropped the last of the bags in the hallway.

“Too early for champagne?” Sylvie drew her friends into the kitchen.

“It’s Christmas, isn’t it? We brought a couple of bottles with us. Charlie, will you grab the duty free?” Elda winked and peeled off her coat. “I love coming here. Thank you so much for the invitation.”

“Thank my parents. They’re the ones who’ve gone away and left us to it.”

“We did bring them a little something as a thank you.” Charlie handed over a perfectly wrapped box.

“Doggie!” Arlo made a beeline for the sleeping Labrador.

“Not while he’s asleep, sweetheart.” Elda intercepted her preschooler with a strong but gentle scoop. “You have to wait until he wakes up and then we must use gentle hands, okay? ”

“Henri’s quite deaf now, and he won’t hear you coming, so we have to be careful not to frighten him.

” Sylvie bopped down to Arlo’s level. “Otherwise he might get cross with us. Now, Charlie would you do the honors with drinks? There’s a bottle chilling in the fridge.

Boys, would you like to make your own pizza? ”

The littlest boy screeched his delight as Sylvie brought out two chef’s hats for him and his brother to wear. “First, we have to wash our hands.”

“Good luck with that,” Charlie said, pouring three large flutes.

“How were your travels?” Sylvie asked, attempting to minimize the splash from the kitchen sink.

Elda grabbed a towel. “All fine. Eli and Arlo love an airport breakfast, don’t you, boys?”

“I had two sausages and three hash browns,” Eli said.

Sylvie frowned, never having really grasped the concept of an English breakfast.

Charlie laughed. “Yep, smooth enough at the other end too. We picked up the car and made our way down here. Not much on the roads, to be honest.”

“You’re ahead of the usual rush.” Sylvie set the boys the task of rolling out their balls of dough and bit her lip as they created a cloud of flour.

“Sorry,” Elda mouthed from across the kitchen island.

“It’s fine. It’s all about keeping them entertained.” Sylvie wiped her forehead, leaving a smudge of flour above her brow. “You two look tired.”

“The joys of two under five.” Charlie gulped at her champagne. “We were all ready for a break, hey, hon?”

“Absolutely. I’ve been busy gearing up for the exhibition launching in the new year.” Elda tucked her hair behind her ear. “In fact, I was wondering if you’d come over for it.”

Charlie coughed. “Elda’s being modest. It’s the biggest solo show she’s ever produced.”

“Oh, don’t hype it up, Charlie.” Elda threw a playful punch at her wife. “I’m trying to keep it low key, so I don’t completely lose my mind.”

Sylvie grinned. Elda had always been a talented artist, but since she’d found her confidence, she’d gone from a relative unknown to a pretty big deal. “Of course I’ll be there. I love seeing your work.”

“And we like those posh little snacks they serve with the drinks, don’t we, boys?” Charlie asked. “They think Mama’s work is all about the catering.”

“And what about Mummy’s work?” Sylvie asked.

Charlie laughed. “Hard to describe family law to a three-year-old. He’s all cops and robbers and thinks I’m the judge.”

“I wouldn’t know where to start with European feminism. Mind you, I struggle to explain it to my class of twenty-one-year-olds, let alone a toddler.” Sylvie placed three bowls of toppings in front of the boys. “These are to put on top of your circle.”

Arlo tipped the entire bowl of cheese onto his blob of dough.

“Think we might need a bit more cheese grating,” Elda said, trying to salvage her youngest’s lunch.

“Now, once you’re done building your pizza, we’ll go outside and put them in the oven.”

“Outside? Why is your oven outside?” Elijah asked.

“Because it’s a special oven just for pizzas that gets super-hot.” Sylvie beamed. “I lit it a couple of hours ago, so it would be toasty for when you got here.”

“Aunty Sylvie is really spoiling you guys, isn’t she?” Elda raised her glass in Sylvie’s direction.

“I like pizza too. It’s a win-win.” Sylvie smirked. “Why don’t you two put your feet up in the lounge, while I run the boys around the garden and cook pizza?”

“Absolutely not.” Charlie stood firm. “We came here to see you, not to burden you with two live wires.”

“But you’re on your holidays. I want you to be able to relax.”

“It’s your time off too, Sylvie.” Elda put her arm around her shoulders .

“In that case, bring the bottle outside. We’ll all enjoy firing the pizzas.” Sylvie ushered everyone out of the French doors to the terrace.

When the evening drew in, Charlie scooped up the boys by their little hands and led them up to bed. They both yawned widely before running back to beg for one last drink and to give their mama and Sylvie kisses.

“Good night, sweetheart. Sleep tight.” Elda watched both her babies totter up the staircase, then stretched her legs out in the space they’d vacated on the couch. “And…relax.”

A few more creases had gathered at the corner of Elda’s eyes, but she was as beautiful as ever. Sylvie had witnessed her blossoming career as an artist, as well as her blooming relationship with Charlie.

“What are you thinking?” Elda asked.

“How far you’ve come since we were scrambling to pay our rent in Paris.”

“We’ve both come a very long way.”

“Well, you have.” Sylvie swallowed back the regret. “Charlie by your side, the boys growing up. It’s wonderful to see you all.”

Elda frowned. “You’ve come far too. All the way south, with a fancy new job and another book on the way.”

Sylvie tsked. The promise of future accomplishments mattered so much more than what she’d already achieved.

“What is it?” Elda asked.

“I can’t get away with the new girl routine at work anymore, not in my second year.” She rolled her head back against the sofa in defeat. “I feel stuck. Like I’m spinning my wheels at a roulette table, waiting for my number to come up.”

Elda sat up. “That’s not like you. What’s going on?”

Sylvie put her hands to her burning cheeks, ashamed to put words around her anguish. “There’s a person. I can’t get them out of my head.”

“Now you have my attention.” Elda edged closer on the sofa. “Tell me more.”

“Her name is Adelaide. Ade.” Goosebumps spread over Sylvie’s arms. Just talking about Ade sent her body into overdrive. “We almost kissed.”

“Interesting.” Elda put her palm to her cheek, her eyes wide with intrigue. “Why almost?’

“My boss interrupted us.” Sylvie groaned, covering her face with a cushion. “It was such bad timing. He dragged us off for Christmas drinks, and I could tell it was the last thing Ade wanted, but I had no idea how to get us out of it.”

“What happened next?”

“We pretended it didn’t happen.” Disappointment rose in Sylvie’s throat.

“Both of you?” Elda laughed. “Was she as into it as you were?”

“I think so. I mean…we haven’t spoken about it. I was feeling pretty bold that night, but now I’ve completely lost my nerve. If he’d seen us, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Elda bit her lip. “Why? What’s your boss’s reaction got to do with anything?”

“She’s a colleague,” Sylvie said with as much clarity as she could muster. “A much younger colleague.”

“How much younger?”

“Twelve years.”

Elda’s eyebrows flickered for just a second. “So what? Is there a rule against colleagues dating or something?”

“Not explicitly. But this feels ambiguous. She’s a PhD leading an international cohort of students.”

“But she’s on the payroll, right, so she’s not your student?”

Sylvie fidgeted. “Right.”

“Then get over yourself. She’s probably wondering why you left her hanging.” Elda jumped off the couch. “If this was the other way around, you’d tell me to grow up and kiss her before she gets tired of waiting.”

Charlie crept through the door. “El, keep your voice down; you’ll wake the boys.” Her gaze flicked between them. “What’d I miss?”

“Sylvie’s got a hot woman on the go, and she’s lost her bottle.”

“That is news. Who is she?” Charlie poured herself a fresh glass of wine and sat next to Elda.

“We didn’t get that far,” Elda said with a huff.

“She’s doing a PhD in marine conservation. She’s over here for a year supervising a bunch of students from the US.”

Charlie smiled. “She’s American?”

“Yes. What’s your point?” Sylvie asked.

“Nothing. Just that you’re not known for your tolerance of other…cultures,” Charlie said with a cheeky wink.

“I’m very tolerant. I put up with you two and your Britishisms, don’t I?”

“You make it very well known when we frustrate you because we’re not being French enough.” Elda giggled and put her legs over her wife’s lap. “We’ve spent two weeks negotiating the Christmas Eve menu.”

Charlie nodded. “I don’t know why anyone needs to buy that much fish for Christmas.”

“You’re in France for Christmas. The least you can do is respect our traditions,” Sylvie said.

Elda mirrored her wife’s baffled expression. “Anyway, you’re distracting Sylvie from telling me all about the juicy bits. I want to know how you feel and exactly what’s happening. Don’t skimp on the details.”

If only it was that easy. Sylvie couldn’t describe the crushing disappointment of the almost-kiss, going from elation to despair in a single beat. She’d craved the resolution of that moment, her lips connecting with Ade’s in a final crescendo of attraction.

But it had fallen to the cold, stone floor, along with her expectations, leaving nothing but fear and shame in its wake.

She wasn’t only afraid of the consequences, but also of the strength of her feelings.

She’d never obsessed over someone this much.

No other person had gotten under her skin, leaving their mark on her, like Ade. “I feel desperate.”

“Oh, jeez, she’s got it bad.” Charlie tipped her head in the air.

“There’s only one thing for it.” Elda sat bolt upright and took Sylvie’s hands. “You need to see her. She needs to come over here.”

The brakes inside Sylvie’s brain threw her forward with inertia. But her heart stilled, as if it had emphatically known the answer all along. “Yeah. I think you’re right.” She excused herself and turned over what she might say. Ade needed a straight-forward message with no room for ambiguity.

Are you busy tomorrow? Would you like to come over? I know it’s Christmas Eve, but I’d love to see you.

The interminable three dots blinking on and off the screen were enough to drive her to refill her wine glass.

She never should have left the kiss hanging, and she was determined, more than ever, to put that right.

But would Ade accept her invitation? Or leave her in a purgatory of not knowing if their lips would ever meet.